Chapter 19: The Fire That Tells the Truth
Rain fell over Zion for the first time in weeks.
Not the usual chemical mist from the high-altitude drones.
Real rain. Heavy. Natural. Cleansing.
In the underground crypts beneath the broken cathedral, Abraham and Saral sat beside the sealed Ark, which now hummed softly like a heart no longer caged.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Saral finally broke the silence.
It wasn't supposed to be us. It was supposed to be legends. Saints. Angels.
Abraham nodded slowly.
But maybe the legends were people like us. Just scared enough to obey. And just brave enough to disobey when it mattered.
She looked at him, and for a moment, the weight of the prophecy fell quiet between them.
Above ground, the city was changing.
Church banners were being replaced with blue markings that looked more like ancient Hebrew than any known language. People whispered of the Ark's return. Some fell to their knees in worship. Others fled.
In the Ecclesia Tower, the High Command met in secret.
The flamebearers have gone rogue, one bishop said.
No, Lior corrected. They have remembered. And that is far more dangerous.
Reuel stood apart from the others, staring at a black box on the table.
Inside it, a broken piece of chain once worn by Seraph-13.
They're heading to the Root Vault, he said suddenly.
The room froze.
How do you know? Lior demanded.
Because that's where the Ark pointed. And if the Ark wants to return to its origin, that's where it begins. At the roots of Zion. At the Tree we tried to erase.
Lior's face darkened.
Then we destroy the root before they reach it.
Below the tower, inside a hidden transport chamber, Abraham and Saral descended in a steel capsule.
No lights. No noise. Just a slow hum of gravity pulling them toward the heart of the city.
She turned to him.
You've never asked about my father.
I figured you'd tell me when it mattered.
It matters now.
She looked ahead.
He wasn't just a scientist. He was one of the first architects of the flame-engine. He helped design the purification systems. He believed the Church was good. Until he found the Tree.
Abraham blinked.
He found the Tree of Zion?
Yes. And they erased his name. Stripped his rank. Told him if he ever spoke again, they'd use me as a test subject.
So he ran.
He sealed everything he knew into my blood.
Abraham reached out, took her hand.
Then we're going to find what he died protecting.
The capsule stopped.
A blast of hot wind hit them as the door opened.
They stepped into the Root Vault.
It was not what they expected.
No golden tree.
No holy music.
Only bones.
Fossilized roots stretching into black soil. Ghosts of something once alive and powerful, now cracked and starved.
In the center of the vault stood a throne made of ash and scripture.
And in it sat a figure.
Not breathing.
Not dead.
Wrapped in robes covered in flame marks.
The Fifth Seal.
Saral whispered.
I can feel it. He's like you.
Abraham stepped forward.
No. He's what I would become if I forgot who I was.
The figure opened its eyes.
It spoke in a voice that sounded like breaking stone.
Who carries the Ark?
I do, Saral said.
And who holds the Gate?
Abraham raised his hand.
I do.
The seal pulsed.
Then receive memory.
Images flooded them.
The Tree in its prime, its roots healing the wounded, its leaves glowing in sync with the prayers of Zion's people. Then the Church's rise. Their fear. The order to burn it.
Seraph-13 standing in front of the Tree, refusing.
Lior, younger, wearing white armor, leading the burn.
The Fifth Seal screaming as flames took his legs.
I remember, Abraham whispered.
I remember who we were before they named us.
Saral's voice was steady.
And I remember who I am now.
The Fifth Seal stood slowly.
Then you are ready for the Sixth.
He turned toward the back of the chamber.
There stood a door carved from living stone.
It bore a single word.
Judgment.
Above them, lightning cracked. The sky was splitting.
The Sixth Seal had begun to awaken.
End of Chapter 19